Peas and Thank You

A Pea at BEA

When my editor called to invite me to Book Expo America, I must admit, I had no idea what it was.  But for an opportunity to go to New York City, to have a few days of quality time with myself, a respite from tutu mending, hair detangling, elderly mens’ resort wear folding and angry cat avoiding sounded heavenly.  Throw in the requirement for a new cocktail dress and the promise of dinner at Blossom and I became the new Urban Dictionary definition of “geeked up.”

I soon learned that BEA is one of the two largest book expos in the world and the place where major publishing houses promote their most anticipated upcoming releases.  The result is a huge conference center filled with booth after booth of book publishers, industry players and authors there to meet-and-greet while handing out autographed copies of their books.  As my friend and author Rebecca Coleman put it, it’s like a huge bookstore where all the books are free!

Let’s overlook the fact that our book hasn’t been published yet.

Before heading to the expo, I did a little sightseeing.  From the hotel gym.

It’s safer that way.

People watching during cardio is a dream come true, second only to eating during cardio, which is the only reason I ever was a long-distance runner.  An excuse to carry jelly beans in a fanny pack?  Yes, please.

After ‘sight seeing,”I met my editor Sarah for lunch at a nearby vegetarian restaurant, Zen Palate

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The book has been a labor of love for Sarah and I, but thankfully we have always shared the same vision for the book and the same taste in food.

Kale and Seaweed Salad

Okay, so I avoided the seaweed…

Temple of Zen—green beans, squash, carrots, broccoli, snow peas, mushrooms, cabbage, tofu and kale

Sarah used lunch as an opportunity to submit a few Wannabe Recipeas of her own (vegan, gluten-free matzo, anyone?) and then we were off to the expo.

Nestled in the heart of the convention center was the Harlequin booth.

You needed to take a sharp right at Flava Flav to get there.

Or should I say “best-selling author, Flavor Flav?”  Really?!

But back to the Harlequin booth and the exciting discovery of seeing our cover up in lights.

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Narcissistic, much?  I’m one gold tooth away from wearing a clock around my neck and a paper crown.

While I didn’t have any books to sign, I did have a hefty stack of book previews, known as BLADs (book layout and designs).  I wasn’t sure what kind of draw I’d get but was surprised to find an excited group lined up, including a few readers, like Katie,

as well as a few future readers.

Get it?  BEA-by?  You know how I love a good pun.

The signing was a blast and I loved meeting everyone who came up to the booth and sharing our excitement about the book.

A celebration was in order.

Sarah, my agent Lisa, Olivia Wilde and I headed to Blossom.  Okay, technically Olivia Wilde didn’t go with us.  But she did eat near us.  And here I thought Flav would be my big brush with celebrity.

The real star at Blossom, though, was the some of the most delicious vegan food I’ve ever eaten.  Next to mine. (See, I’m getting this promoting thing down.)

We ate family-style, starting with the Blossom Greens.

Mixed greens, sweet cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, jicama, carrots, tamari-toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds in a ginger teriyaki lime dressing.

The dressing on this was slightly tangy, slightly salty, slightly sweet and totally delicious.

Next came the life-changing Ravioli in Cashew Cream.

I will be making this.  With the rich creamy sauce covering tender pasta stuffed with a spinach pinenut filling studded with tempeh bacon, I wanted to put on my sleep mask (okay, Breathe Right strip), crawl into the middle of the doughy pillow and call it a night.

But there was more to come.

Like the excellent Lasagna,

Tapioca cheese, ground seitan,and roasted eggplant, over marinara and sautéed broccoli rabe

the superb Pistachio and Peppercorn Dusted Tofu,

Served over roasted root vegetable crepe and a lemon truffle emulsion. andf inished with frisee salad tossed in red beet vinaigrette.

and finally the surprising additional favorite of the Port Wine Seitan.

Seitan cutlets pan-seared in a sauce of port wine and mushrooms, accompanied by creamy mashed potatoes, tempura onion, and sautéed garlic spinach.

I mean this in the most complimentary way, but this tasted like Sweet and Sour Chicken from the best Chinese restaurant you ever ate at.  Except, bonus: nobody died.

Definitely a memorable meal.

Quintessential New York.

Quintessential vegan gourmet.

Quintessential reason to wear dresses with pockets to store leftover seitan in.

Or a fanny pack.

After dinner we celebrated more with a cocktail party at the Kimberly Hotel’s rooftop bar overlooking the city.

The perfect ending to a dream-like day that left me filled with such an appreciation for everyone at Harlequin and all the work they have done for me and this project.

Well, it was almost the perfect ending.

Ahh, that’s better.

Until next time New York!